EP1411092B1

EP1411092B1 - C.I.Pigment Red 254 having improved colouristic properties

Info

Publication number: EP1411092B1
Application number: EP03104957A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Yves Grandidier; Albert Riegler; Klaus Ruf; Urs Schlatter; Takashi Deno
Original assignee: BASF SE
Current assignee: BASF SE
Priority date: 1999-07-09
Filing date: 2000-06-23
Publication date: 2011-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-23
Also published as: KR100700303B1; ATE445673T1; US6911074B2; KR100803934B1; CN1360617A; EP1411091B1; CN1534067A; WO2001004215A3; DE60043163D1; TWI250192B; BR0012323A; EP1194485A2; WO2001004215A2; JP2007084833A; CN1554711A; KR20060118021A; ATE265499T1; US6517630B1; CA2374977A1; US20040250733A1

Abstract

Preparation of a pigment comprises: (1) subjecting crude pigment(s) and crystalline inorganic salt(s) in the absence of other constituents to a rotor having a tangential speed of at least 10 m/s, to attain at least 80[deg]C by friction effects; and (2) kneading with an organic liquid and if desired adding additional substances selected from inorganic salts, inert additives and colorants. Independent claims are also included for the following: (a) Converting a crude pigment into an amorphous fine-particled form by step (1). (b) Preparing a pigment by kneading a composition comprising a compound of formula (I), crystalline inorganic salt(s) and an organic liquid. At the beginning of kneading, compound (I) is in amorphous form and the organic liquid contains at least one oxo group in its molecule. The proportion of the organic liquid to the inorganic salt is from 1 ml:6 g to 3 ml:7 g and that of the organic liquid to the overall weight of the inorganic salt and the pigment of formula (I) is 1 ml:2.5 g to 1 ml:7.5 g. (c) A pigment of formula (I) measured in gravure printing with an applied amount after drying of 0.860 g/m 2>, of which the pigment accounts for 0.068 g/m 2>; by printing on white kraft paper. The pigment gives a lightness (L*) not > 48, a chroma (C*) of at least 53 and a hue angle (h) of 295-315, after drying. The printing ink is prepared by (i) dispersing (parts by weight) the pigment (30), aqueous solution (30) containing (wt.%) a dispersing resin (30) dissolved in the solution and isopropanol (7), first with a laboratory dissolver at 6000 rotations per minute (rpm) and 23+- 2[deg]C for 15 minutes and then in a bead mill containing ceramic beads of diameter 1.1 +- 0.1 mm at 6000 rpm and 30+- 10[deg]C for 10 minutes; and (ii) diluting the resulting dispersion with an aqueous solution (900 parts by weight) containing (wt.%) polyacrylate (18) dissolved in the solution and isopropanol (15) in the laboratory dissolver at 6000 rpm and 23 +- 2[deg]C for 15 minutes. (d) A crystalline organic pigment of the quinacridone, anthraquinone, perylene, indigo, quinophthalone, indanthrone, isoindolinone, dioxazine, azo, phthalocyanine or diketopyrrolopyrrole series (preferably 1,4-diketopyrrolo[3,4]-pyrrole, especially C.I. Pigment Red 254 (pigment) of formula (II)) comprising (0-8) wt.% of particles of an average size of 0.01-0.12 mu m, based on the weight of particles of size from 0.01-0.1 mu m. The full width at half maximum of a CuK-alpha radiation X-ray powder diagram is 0-0.68[deg] 2theta . (e) A 50 % dispersion of the pigment of formula (II) in a methacrylic resin. The dispersion is applied as a film of thickness such that the absorption maximum in the area from 400-700 nm has an intensity of 1.0 +- 0.1. The maximum occurs at a wavelength of 556-596 (especially 557 - 565) nm. Preferably, the maximum slope (at the inversion point) on the bathochromic side of the absorption maximum reaches at least 5% change in absorption per 1 nm change in wavelength based on the absorption at the absorption maximum. (f) A printing ink concentrate comprising 1-75 (preferably 5-50, especially 25-40) wt.% of the pigment of formula (I) or (II) present in dispersion in a binder solution. (g) A color filter comprising a transparent, essentially colorless substrate and a layer comprising 1-75 (preferably 5-50, especially 25-40) wt.% of the pigment of formula (I) or (II) dispersed in a high molecular mass organic material. (h) A composition for making color filters comprising (wt.%) the high molecular mass organic material and the pigment of formula (I) or (II) (0.01-40, preferably 1-25, especially 5-10) dispersed in the material. (i) A mass-colored, high molecular mass organic material comprising (wt.%) the pigment of formula (I) or (II) (0.05-70) and the high molecular mass organic material (99.95-30). (j) Coloring high molecular mass organic material in the mass by incorporating the pigment of formula (I) or (II) in it.

Description

The invention relates to a novel pigment form of Pigment Red 254, having a higher colour strength and higher colour saturation as well as excellent other applications properties. The pigment of the invention is obtained by kneading an amorphized form with an inorganic salt in the presence of an organic liquid and may be used in particular in printing inks.
Shade, colour strength, gloss and transparency are the most important colouristic properties in printing inks and colour filters. The shade must correspond to very specific values but with maximum possible colour saturation with a view to a broad colour palette in multicolour printing. To this end, the colour strength, gloss and transparency should be as high as possible.
Additionally, pigments should nowadays be able to be used without losses in their applications properties even in modern, environmentally friendly systems, for example in water-based coating compositions or printing inks. These are formulations whose volatile fraction consists of from 5 to 100% by weight, preferably of at least 20% by weight, with particular preference of at least 50% by weight, of water, based on the overall weight of all volatile components.
C.I. Pigment Red 254 [56110], the first and most important commercial 1,4-diketopyrrolo-[3,4c]-pyrrole pigment, is also available in many different grades such as for example Ir-gazin^® Red BO or Irgaphor^® Red B-CF (Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc.). However, their coloristic properties, especially the hue and transparency, have proven still not to reach perfectly the desired values.
US 3,598,625 discloses a pigment preparation process, directed primarily also to copper phthalocyanine, in which the crude pigments are first subjected to forces of wear and shear, then treated with micropulverized salt and a solvent in a mixer.
EP 069 895 discloses the conditioning of crude polycyclic pigments, by grinding with sodium sulfate, sodium chloride or aluminium sulfate in the presence of a glycol and an alkaline earth metal halide. This is intended to achieve improved transparency, a cleaner hue and greater colour strength.
Similar advantages are achieved, however, in accordance with EP 075 182 in the conditioning of an organic pigment by treatment with polyphosphoric acid.
US 5,194,088 , on the other hand, describes a process for conditioning pigments wherein the crude products are first of all preground, then simply contacted with a highly polar solvent at a temperature below 50°C. Pigment Red 254 is only mentioned as the minor component of a solid solution into Pigment Red 202.
US 4,785,999 describes an analogous process wherein a very specific grinding mechanism is used and the aftertreatment takes place in a very large amount of solvent. Disclosed among many other solvents are ketones, esters and dimethylformamide.
US 5,626,662 and JP 09/165528 disclose processes in which pigments are first dry-ground and then ground in aqueous suspension in a powerful, high-speed ball mill.
US-5,476,949 discloses finely divided highly transparent diketopyrrolopyrrole pigments of high chroma (CIELAB C*) and outstanding transparency. These pigments are obtained directly from the reaction of succinates with nitriles in a molar ratio of 1:2.
All of these extremely diverse methods, however, have still been unable fully to unlock the hitherto unsuspectedly high colouristic potential of pigments such as particularly Pigment Red 254.
Thus, the invention pertains to a pigment of the formula
characterized in that a 50% by weight dispersion thereof in a methacrylic resin, applied as a film of thickness such that the absorption maximum in the area from 400 to 700 nm has an intensity of 1.0 ± 0.1, said absorption maximum occurs at a wavelength from 556 to 596 nm, preferably from 557 to 565 nm. The maximum slope (at the inversion point) on the bathochromic side of the absorption maximum reaches preferably at least 5% change in absorption per 1 nm change in wavelength, based on the absorption at the absorption maximum, most preferably at least 5.5 %A /1 nm.
This pigment also may additionally contain other colorants of structure different from (II), for example such as disclosed above. When such colorants are added, then of course the absorption maximum is shifted. Most suitable additional colorants are other 1,4-diketopyrrolo-[3,4c]-pyrrole pigments, preferably Pigment Orange 71, Pigment Orange 73, Pigment Red 255, Pigment Red 264, Pigment Red 270, Pigment Red 272, 3,6-di(4'-cyanophenyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione or 3-phenyl-6-(4'-tert-butylphenyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo-[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione. The additional components will shift the mixture's spectrum hypsochromically or bathochromically depending on their own hue or on the eventual formation of solid solutions or mixed crystals. Though the absorption maximum is shifted, however, the slope is still advantageously steep.
Thus, the application also pertains to Pigment Red 254, characterized in that a 50% by weight dispersion thereof in a methacrylic resin, applied as a film of thickness such that the absorption maximum in the area from 400 to 700 nm has an intensity of 1.0 ± 0.1, the maximum slope on the bathochromic side of the absorption maximum in the range from 500 to 650 nm reaches at least 5% change in absorption per 1 nm change in wavelength, based on the absorption at said absorption maximum.
Suitably, the methacrylic resin is substantially colourless, examples thereof which are known to the skilled artisan being copolymers of aromatic methacrylates with methacrylic acid of M_w from 30'000 to 60'000. The film is most appropriately made by spin-coating.
The gravure printing ink being prepared by dispersing 30 parts by weight of pigment and 30 parts by weight of an aqueous solution containing 30% by weight of a dispersing resin dissolved therein and 7% by weight of isopropanol, based in each case on the weight of the solution, first with a laboratory dissolver at 6000 rpm and 23 ± 2°C, for 15 minutes, then in a bead mill with ceramic beads of diameter 1.1 ± 0.1 mm at 6000 rpm and 30 ± 10°C, for 10 minutes, and diluting the resulting dispersion with 900 parts by weight of an aqueous solution containing 18% by weight of a polyacrylate dissolved therein and 15% by weight of isopropanol, based in each case on the weight of the solution, in a laboratory dissolver at 6000 rpm and 23 ± 2°C for 15 minutes.
It is also possible to surface-modify the pigment of the invention in accordance with one of the many known methods, in order, for example, to increase its dispersibility.
It is not known why the instant process leads to such improvements of halogenated and in particular chlorinated pigments. However, we suspect that this may be due to their unique physical characteristics and crystal lattices, which also lead for example to extremely low solubility and good weather fastness.
The pigment of the invention is notable in particular for high colour saturation and astoundingly high colour strength. They have very attractive shades with excellent fastness properties, good transparency and good gloss.
The pigment of the invention may be isolated and dried in pure form, in which case it is readily dispersible thereafter in plastics, paints and printing inks using, for example, a ball mill or bead mill. As a moist presscake, it can also be used directly to prepare pigment dispersions.
Dispersions of the pigment of the invention are ideally suited in particular as concentrates for preparing printing inks which have excellent applications properties, especially attractive colouristics with high colour strength.
The invention therefore additionally provides a printing ink for a printing ink concentrate comprising a pigment of the invention.
If desired, in order to improve the applications properties, customary additives such as binders may be added to the pigment of the invention prior to or during its isolation. Since the presence of additives, owing to incompatibilities,frequently results in a restriction of the possible fields of application, it is preferred to refrain from adding them. A very particular advantage which has been found is that pigment isolated without additives is outstandingly compatible with both aqueous and nonaqueous media, so that surprisingly good applications results can be obtained in both cases.
A printing ink is a liquid or pastelike dispersion which comprises colorants, binders and, if desired, solvents and additives. In a liquid printing ink, the binder and, if present, the additives are normally in solution in the solvent. Customary viscosities in the Brookfield viscometer are from 0.1 to 20 Pa·s (No. 4 spindle, 10 rpm). Printing ink concentrates are compositions from which printing inks can be obtained by dilution. Ingredients and compositions of printing inks and printing ink concentrates are familiar to the skilled worker.
In addition to the pigment of the invention, the pigment formulations or pigment dispersions of the invention may include further colorants as described in connection with the kneading.
The printing ink concentrates of the invention contain the pigments of the invention judiciously in a concentration of from 1 to 75% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, with particular preference from 25 to 40% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink concentrate.
The invention therefore likewise provides a printing ink concentrate comprising from 1 to 75% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, with particular preference from 25 to 40% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink concentrate, of a pigment of the invention which is in dispersion in a binder solution.
The printing inks of the invention contain the pigments of the invention judiciously in a concentration of from 0.01 to 40% by weight, preferably from 1 to 25% by weight, with particular preference from 5 to 10% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink, and may be used, for example, for gravure printing, flexographic printing, screen printing, offset printing, or continuous or dropwise inkjet printing on paper, board, metal, wood, leather, plastic or textiles, or else in special applications in accordance with formulations which are general knowledge, for example in publishing, packaging or freight, in logistics, in advertising, in security printing or else in the office sector for ballpoint pens, felt-tip pens, fibre-tip pens, inking pads, ink ribbons or inkjet printer cartridges.
The invention therefore likewise provides a printing ink comprising from 0.01 to 40% by weight, preferably from 1 to 25% by weight, with particular preference from 5 to 10% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink, of a pigment of the invention which is in dispersion in a binder solution.
Preference is given to printing ink concentrates and printing inks on an aqueous acrylate basis. This is a reference to polymers or copolymers obtained by addition polymerization of at least one monomer containing a group
which are in solution in water or a water-containing organic solvent. Suitable organic solvents are water-miscible solvents commonly used by the skilled worker, examples being alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol or an isomer of propanol, butanol or pentanol, ethylene glycol or its ethers, such as ethylene glycol methyl ether or ethylene glycol ethyl ether, or ketones, such as acetone, ethyl methyl ketone or cyclohexanone. Preference is given to water and alcohols.
The invention therefore also provides a printing ink concentrate or printing ink of the inventtion wherein the binder primarily comprises an acrylate polymer or copolymer and the solvent is selected from the group consisting of water, C₁-C₅alcohols, ethylene glycol, 2-(C₁-C₅alkoxy)ethanol, acetone, ethyl methyl ketone and any mixtures thereof.
In addition to the binder, the printing ink concentrates and printing inks of the invention may, if desired, also include additives known to the skilled worker, in customary concentrations.
For gravure or flexographic printing it is usual to dilute a printing ink concentrate in order to prepare a printing ink which may then be used in accordance with methods known per se. Concentrates comprising the pigment compositions of the invention are particularly suitable in this case.
The pigment of the invention is further also suitable for preparing solid toners, wax transfer ribbons or very especially colour filters.
Thus, another object of the invention is also use of Pigment Red 254 of the invention in colour filters. Its coloristic value is surprisingly high due to a narrow absorption band with unprecedented steep slope, and at the same time they possess an excellent crystallinity combined with a small particle size and a particularly narrow particle size distribution. Advantageously, both big and extremely fine particles are lacking almost completely. The products exhibit both an excellent rheology making possible a high concentration in use and also superior coloristic properties and excellent fastnesses, including outstanding light fastness.
Hence, the invention also relates to a substantially crystalline organic diketopyrrolopyrrole pigment Pigment Red 254 consisting of particles of average size from 0.01 µm to 0.12 µm, preferably from 0.02 µm to 0.10 µm, most preferred from 0.03 µm to 0.06 µm, characterized in that the total quantity of particles of size greater than 0.12 µm and smaller than 0.01 µm is from 0 to 8% by weight, preferably from 0 to 4% by weight, most preferred from 0 to 2% by weight, based on the weight of particles of size from 0.01 µm to 0.1 µm, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the highest resolved peaks on a Cub_α radiation X-ray powder diagram is from about 0.1 to 0.68 °2θ, preferably from 0.1 to 0.6 °2θ, most preferred from 0.2 to 0.5 °2θ, with particular reference to about 0.425 °2θ.
In general, measuring solely the highest intensity resolved peak should be deemed appropriate. The minimum peak width depends on the instrument's resolution and can be determined by the Debye-Scherrer formula. For determining the full width at half maximum, it is only suitable to use an instrument the resolution of which is high enough in order not to influence significantly the peak width to be measured.
The invention also pertains to the use of the instant pigment in colour filters, which can themselves be used for example in electro-optical systems such as TV screens, liquid crystal displays, charge coupled devices, plasma displays or electroluminescent displays and the like. These may be, for example, active (twisted nematic) or passive (supertwisted nematic) ferroelectric displays or light-emitting diodes.
The pigment will generally be used in the manufacture of colour filters as a dispersion in an organic solvent or water. There are several ways to manufacture these colour filters, which follow two mainstreams:

Direct patterning during applying;
Patterning after applying the pigment.

Direct patterning can be obtained by several printing techniques, such as impact (off-set, flexography, stamping, letterpress etc.) as well as non-impact (ink jet techniques).
Other direct patterning techniques are based on lamination processes, electronic discharging processes like electro-deposition and some special colour proofing methods, like the so-called Chromalin™ process (DuPont).
For impact printing techniques, the pigment may be dispersed in water or organic solvents by standard de-agglomeration methods (Skandex, Dynamill, Dispermat and the like) in the presence of a dispersant and a polymeric binder to produce an ink. Any dispersion technique known in the fiels, including the choice of solvent, dispersant and binder, can be used. The type of ink and its viscosity depend on the application technique and are well-known to the skilled artisan. Most usual binders, to which the invention is of course not limited, are (meth)acrylates, epoxies, PVA, polyimids, Novolak systems and the like as well as combinations of these polymers.
The ink dispersion then can be printed on all kind of standard printing machines. Curing of the binder system is preferably achieved by a heating process. The three colours can be applied at once or in different printing steps with intermediate drying and/or curing steps, for example one colour at the time in three printing steps.
Inks for use in ink jet, for example piezo or bubble jet, can be prepared likewise. They generally contain a pigment dispersed in water and/or one or a mixture of many hydrophilic organic solvents in combination with a dispersant and a binder.
For ink jet printing a standard ink jet printer can be used or a dedicated printer can be built in order to optimize for example the printing speed etc.
For lamination techniques, like thermal transfer and the like, a web system has to be made: The pigment is dispersed in a solvent or water with dispersant and binder and coated on a foil and dried. The pigment/binder system can be patternwise or uniformly transferred to a colour filter substrate with the help of energy (UV, IR, heat, pressure etc.). Depending on the technique used, the colourant for example may be transferred alone (dye diffusion or sublimation transfer), or the colourant dispersion may be entirely transferred including the binder (wax transfer).
For electrodeposition, the pigment has to be dispersed in water together with an ionized polymer. By means of an electrical current, the ionized polymer is deionized at the anode or the cathode and, being insoluble then, deposited together with the pigments. This can be done on patterned or patternwise shielded, by a photoresist, (transparent) photo-conductors like ITO etc.
The Chromalin™ process makes use of a photosensitive material, deposited on a colour filter substrate. The material becomes tacky upon UV exposure. The so called 'toner', comprising a mixture or compound of pigment and polymer, is distributed on the substrate and sticks on the tacky parts. This process has to be done three to four times for R,G,B and eventually black.
Patterning after applying is a method based mostly on the known photoresist technology, wherein the pigment is dispersed in the photoresist composition. Other methods are indirect patterning with the help of a separate photoresist or lamination techniques.
The pigment may be dispersed into photoresists by any standard method such as described above for the printing processes. The binder systems may also be identical. Further suitable compositions are described for example in EP 654711 , WO 98/45756 or WO 98/45757 .
Photoresists comprise a photoinitiator and a poly-crosslinkable monomer (negative radical polymerization), a material to crosslink the polymers itself (for example a photoacid generator or the like) or a material to chemically change the solubility of the polymer in certain developing media. This process, however, can also be done with heat (for example using thermal arrays or an NIR beam) instead of UV, in the case of some polymers which undergo chemical changes during heating processes, resulting in changes of solubility in the mentioned developing media. A photoinitiator is then not needed.
The photosensitive or heat sensible material is coated on a colour filter substrate, dried and UV(or heat) irradiated, sometimes again baked (photoacid generators) and developed with a developing medium (mostly a base). In this last step only the non-exposed (negative systems) or only the exposed (positive systems) parts are washed away, giving the wanted pattern. This operation has to be repeated for all the colours used.
Photosensitive lamination techniques are using the same principle, the only difference being the coating technique. A photosensitive system is applied as described above, however on a web instead of a colour filter substrate. The foil is placed on the colour filter substrate and the photosensitive layer is transferred with the help of heat and/or pressure.
Indirect processes, with the above mentioned polymeric binders without a photosensitive component, make use of an extra photoresist, coated on top of the pigmented resist. During the patterning of the photoresist, the pigmented resist is patterned as well. The photoresist has to be removed afterwards.
More details about the manufacture of colour filters can be found in text books, reviews and other scientific articles. The skilled artisan will associate the instant invention with the use of any such known technique as well.
The colour filters of the invention contain the pigment of the invention judiciously in a concentration of from 1 to 75% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, with particular preference from 25 to 40% by weight, based on the overall weight of the pigmented layer.
The invention therefore likewise provides a colour filter comprising a transparent substrate and a layer comprising from 1 to 75% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, with particular preference from 25 to 40% by weight, based on the overall weight of the layer, of a pigment of the invention dispersed in a high molecular mass organic material. The substrate is preferably essentially colourless (T ≥ 95% all over the visible range from 400 to 700 nm).
The binder may be any high molecular mass organic material as defined below, binder materials as described above being only examples.
The instant printing inks or photoresists for making colour filters contain the pigment of the invention judiciously in a concentration of from 0.01 to 40% by weight, preferably from 1 to 25% by weight, with particular preference from 5 to 10% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink or photoresist.
The invention therefore likewise provides a composition for making colour filters comprising from 0.01 to 40% by weight, preferably from 1 to 25% by weight, with particular preference from 5 to 10% by weight, based on the overall weight of the composition, of a pigment of the invention dispersed therein.
When micronized by the instant process, Pigment Red 254 shows a hitherto never seen absorption spectrum when dispersed in a polymer film. The absorption maximum at about 552 nm is shifted to about 560 nm and the slope down to 590 nm is much steeper (Fig. 4). This is highly advantageous as it enables a desired, substantially higher absorption of green light (emission wavelength about 585 nm).
The pigment of the invention is finally also suitable for colouring high molecular mass organic materials in the mass.
The high molecular mass organic material to be coloured in accordance with the invention may be natural or synthetic in origin and normally has a molecular weight in the range from 10³ to 10⁸ g/mol. The said material may, for example, comprise natural resins or drying oils, rubber or casein, or modified natural substances, such as chlorinated rubber, oil-modified alkyd resins, viscose, cellulose ethers or esters, such as cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetobutyrate or nitrocellulose, but especially fully synthetic organic polymers (both thermosets and thermoplastics), as obtained by addition polymerization, polycondensation or polyaddition, examples being polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polyisobutylene, substituted polyolefins such as polymers of vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, styrene, acrylonitrile or acrylates and/or methacrylates or butadiene, and also copolymers of the abovementioned monomers, especially ABS or EVA.
From the series of the polyaddition resins and polycondensation resins, mention may be made of the condensates of formaldehyde with phenols, known as phenolic resins, and the condensates of formaldehyde with urea, thiourea and melamine, known as amino resins, the polyesters used as paint resins, and indeed both saturated resins, such as alkyd resins, and unsaturated resins, such as maleate resins, and also the linear polyesters and polyamides, or silicones.
The high molecular mass compounds mentioned may be present individually or in mixtures, as plastic masses or melts, which may if desired be spun into fibres.
They may also be present in the form of their monomers or in the polymerized state in dissolved form as film formers or binders for coating materials or printing inks, such as linseed oil varnish, nitrocellulose, alkyd resins, melamine resins, urea-formaldehyde resins or acrylic resins. When used in coatings, the instant pigments exhibit higher fastnesses than the chemically identical pigments of similar mean particle size or of similar surface area. However, their use in coatings is relatively limited due to their high transparency (for example in metallic finishes).
Pigmentation of the high molecular mass organic substances with the pigment of the invention takes place, for example, by mixing such a pigment, in the form if desired of masterbatches, into these substrates using roll mills, mixers or milling apparatus. In general, the pigmented material is subsequently brought into the desired ultimate form by techniques known per se such as calendering, compression moulding, extrusion, spreading, casting or injection moulding. In order to produce nonrigid mouldings or to reduce their brittleness it is often desirable to incorporate what are known as plasticizers into the high molecular mass compounds prior to their shaping. Examples of such plasticizers which may be used are esters of phosphoric acid, phthalic acid or sebacic acid. In the process of the invention, the plasticizers may be incorporated before or after the incorporation of the pigmentary colorant into the polymers. A further possibility, in order to obtain different hues, is to add fillers and/or other colouring constituents such as white, coloured or black pigments, and also effect pigments, in the particular desired amount to the high molecular mass organic materials in addition to the pigment compositions.
For pigmenting coating materials and printing inks, the high molecular mass organic materials and the pigments of the invention, alone or together with additives such as fillers, other pigments, siccatives or plasticizers, are finely dispersed or dissolved in, generally, an organic and/or aqueous solvent or solvent mixture. One possible procedure here is to disperse or dissolve the individual components alone, or else two or more together, and only then to combine all of the components.
A further embodiment therefore additionally provides mass-coloured high molecular mass organic material comprising

(a) from 0.05 to 70% by weight, based on the sum of (a) and (b), of a pigment of the invention, and
(b) from 99.95 to 30% by weight, based on the sum of (a) and (b), of a high molecular mass organic material.

Said material comprises both a ready-to-use composition or an article formed therefrom, and a masterbatch, in the form of granules, for example. If desired, the high molecular mass organic material coloured in accordance with the invention may also comprise customary additives, for example stabilizers.
A further embodiment therefore additionally provides a process for colouring high molecular mass organic material in the mass, which comprises incorporating therein a pigment of the invention, for example by mixing the high molecular mass organic material with the pigment composition of the invention, optionally in the form of a masterbatch, in a manner known per se and processing this mixture.
The examples which follow illustrate the invention without restricting its scope (unless specified otherwise, "%" always relates to % by weight):
Example C8: A 10 I mixer (FM 10 MB™ , Henschel, Germany) is charged with 500 g of ^®Irgazin DPP Red BO (Pigment Red 254), 500 g ^®Cinquasia Magenta RT-265-D (Pigment Red 202), and 4000 g of sodium chloride (particle sizes between 5 µm and 700 µm). Cooling is switched on and the rotary speed of the triple propeller (diameter 220 mm) is adjusted to 3200 rpm. After one hour, the internal temperature is 135°C. The temperature is then left to fall to 30°C at 50 rpm.
250 g of this powder are transferred to a laboratory kneading apparatus with a capacity of 0.75 l (Werner & Pfleiderer, Germany). Then 100 g of ground sodium chloride (particle size distribution with maximum around 20 µm) and 85 ml of diacetone alcohol are added and the mixture is kneaded at 60 rpm for 6 hours. The walls of the kneading apparatus are thermostatted at 40°C.
Then 120 ml of deionized water are added, the resulting mixture is discharged onto a Büchner funnel and the solid product is washed with water until the washing water is salt-free. The product is dried at 80°C /3·10³ Pa for 15 hours and sieved through a mesh of size 0.8 mm.
Example C9: A 10 l mixer (FM 10 MB™, Henschel, Germany) is charged with 1000 g of ^®Irgazin DPP Red BO (Pigment Red 254) and 4000 g of sodium chloride (Spezialsalz 100/95™, average particle size approximately 70 µm, Schweizer Salinen, Schweizerhalle, Switzerland). Cooling is switched on and the rotary speed of the triple propeller (diameter 220 mm) is adjusted to 3200 rpm. After one hour, the internal temperature is 130°C. The temperature is then left to fall to 30°C at 50 rpm.
300 g of this powder are transferred to a laboratory kneading apparatus with a capacity of 0.75 I (Werner & Pfleiderer, Germany). Then 120 g of ground sodium chloride (particle size distribution with maximum around 20 µm) and 90 ml of diacetone alcohol are added and the mixture is kneaded at 100 rpm for 10 hours. The walls of the kneading apparatus are thermostatted at 30°C.
Then 120 ml of deionized water are added, the resulting mixture is discharged onto a Büchner funnel and the solid product is washed with water until the washing water is salt-free. The product is dried at 80°C / 3·10³ Pa for 15 hours and sieved through a mesh of size 0.8 mm. The mean particle size is about 70-75 nm.
Example C10: Example C9 is repeated, with the difference that Pigment Red 254 prepared according to example 6 of US-4,579,949 (particle size about 0.2-0.5 µm) is substituted for ^®Irgazin DPP Red BO. The results are similar.
Example C11: A 10 I mixer (FM 10 MB™, Henschel, Germany) is charged with 1000 g of ^®Irgazin DPP Red BO (Pigment Red 254) and 4000 g of sodium chloride (Spezialsalz 100/95™, average particle size approximately 70 µm, Schweizer Salinen, Schweizerhalle, Switzerland). Cooling is switched on and the rotary speed of the triple propeller (diameter 220 mm) is adjusted to 3200 rpm. After one hour, the internal temperature is 130°C. The temperature is then left to fall to 30°C at 50 rpm.
300 g of this powder are transferred to a laboratory kneading apparatus with a capacity of 0.75 I (Werner & Pfleiderer, Germany). Then 90 g of ground sodium chloride (particle size distribution with maximum around 20 µm) and 75 ml of diacetone alcohol are added and the mixture is kneaded at 100 rpm for 6 hours. The walls of the kneading apparatus are thermostatted at 35°C.
Then 120 ml of deionized water are added, the resulting mixture is discharged onto a Büchner funnel and the solid product is washed with water until the washing water is salt-free. The product is dried at 80°C / 3·10³ Pa for 15 hours and sieved through a mesh of size 0.8 mm.
Example C12: A 920 I rapid mixer (type RD900 / Diosna) is charged with 60 kg of ^®Irgazin DPP Red BO (Pigment Red 254) and 360 kg of sodium chloride (Spezialsalz 100/95™, average particle size approximately 70 µm, Schweizer Salinen, Schweizerhalle, Switzerland). Cooling is switched on and the rotary speed of the spindle (6 knifes of diameter 800 mm) is adjusted to about 750 rpm (the most suitable range is from 700 to 1000 rpm). After 3½ hours, the mixture is discharged from the mixer and cooled down to room temperature.
2500 kg of this powder (collected from several runs) are transferred to a twin-arms kneading apparatus with a capacity of 3000 I (type DMK / De Dietrich). Then 460 l of diacetone alcohol are added and the mixture is kneaded for about 18 hours (about 1500 rpm). The walls of the kneading apparatus are cooled to 5-10°C in order to control the temperature of the mass to about 30-40°C.
After addition of water, the resulting mixture is discharged onto a filter and the solid product is washed with water until the filtrate is salt-free. The product is dried at 80°C / 3.10³ Pa for 15 hours and sieved through a mesh of size 0.8 mm. Fig. 1 is a TEM picture of this product.
Example C27: Pigment Red 254 is prepared according to Example 1 of US-4,931,566 . A very fine-sized pigment of particle size < 0.2 µm is obtained.
Example C28: A laboratory kneading apparatus with a capacity of 0.75 l (Werner & Pfleiderer, Germany) is charged with 300 g of fine-sized Pigment Red 254 prepared according to Example C27 and 1200 g of ground sodium chloride (particle size distribution with maximum around 20 µm). 90 ml of diacetone alcohol are added and the mixture is kneaded at 100 rpm for 10 hours. The walls of the kneading apparatus are thermostatted at 30°C.
Then 120 ml of deionized water are added, the resulting mixture is discharged onto a Büchner funnel and the solid product is washed with water until the washing water is salt-free. The product is dried at 80°C / 3.10³ Pa for 15 hours and sieved through a mesh of size 0.8 mm.
The product obtained has a particle size of 0.06-0.10 µm and a relatively pure hue, but its crystallinity is inferior to that of Example C10.
Example C29: Example C28 is repeated, with the difference that ^®Irgazin DPP Red BO (coarse particles, specific surface area ∼15 g/m²) is substituted for the fine-sized product according to Example C27, and that sodium chloride of particle size distribution with maximum around 50 µm is used.
Examples E1-E5: The crystallinity of the products according to Examples C10, C12, C27 and
C28 as well as commercially available ^®Irgaphor DPP Red B-CF (mean particle size ∼50 nm; Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc.) is compared using a Rigaku RAD2C X-ray diffractometer (CuK_α , 40 kV, 40 mA). The pigments are filled up in a standard aluminium sample holder. The divergence (DS) and scattering (SS) slits are adjusted to 0.5°, the receiving slit (RS) to 0.15 mm. The diffracted x-ray beam is monochromatised and measured by a scintillation counter. 2θ-θ scanning is done with the fixed time method (τ = 2 s with a step of 0.02°) to minimize the effect of x-ray statistic fluctuation. The corrected data are processed with smoothing and background substraction using the Savitzky-Golay and Sonnveld-Visser methods, respectively.

The peak width at half the intensity of the peak maximum is measured for the main peak at about 28 °2θ. The results are as follows:

Example	pigment	full width at half maximum (∼28 [°2θ])	count/s
E1	according to C10	0.612	757
E2	according to C12	0.423	1028
E3	according to C27	0.826	1006
E4	according to C28	0.894	721
E5	^®Irgaphor DPP Red B-CF	0.795	1093

The precision depends both on the peak width and on the number of counts at the maximum, which itself depends on the peak width, too. Thus, broader full widths at half maximum (in this case above 0.70) are less precise.
Fig. 2 shows the X-ray diffraction spectrum of a product obtained in very close analogy to examples C12 and E2.
Fig. 3 shows the X-ray diffraction spectrum of a product obtained in very close analogy to Examples C28 and E4.
Examples F1-F5: The following substances are introduced into a 37 ml screw bottle: 200 mg of the products according to Examples C10, C12, C27 and C28 as well as commercially available ^®Irgaphor DPP Red B-CF; 8 mg Solsperse S22000 (Zeneca); 32 mg Solsperse S24000 (Zeneca); 200 mg of a copolymer of aromatic methacrylates with methacrylic acid of M_w from 30'000 to 60'000; 1760 mg (1-methoxy-2-propyl)-acetate and 5000 mg zirconia beads of dia-meter 0.5 mm. The bottle is sealed with an inner cup then applied to a paint conditioner for 3 hours to give a dispersion.

The dispersion thus obtained is cast onto a glass substrate by means of spin coating, wherein a rotation speed is adjusted to give a film having color coordination x = 0.5500 (standard C light, viewing angle 2°), then dried at 60°C for 1 hour. The optical properties of the dispersion films thus obtained are measured by use of a UV/VIS spectrophotometer. The results are as follows:

Example	pigment	absorption maximum (VIS)	film thickness
F1	according to C10	558 nm	0.62 µm
F2	according to C12	560 nm	0.62 µm
F3	according to C27	554 nm	0.62 µm
F4	according to C28	557 nm	0.62 µm
F5	^®Irgaphor DPP Red B-CF	553 nm	0.62 µm

Fig. 4 shows the absorption spectra from 350 to 770 nm of the colour filters according to Examples F2 and F3. The maximum slope (decrease in absorption) in the region from 570 to 580 nm is 6.16 %A / nm around 579 nm for Example F2 and 4.39 %A / nm around 575 nm for Example F3.
Example G1: The dispersion film according to Example F2 is heated to 270°C for 60 minutes in an oven at the air. Optical microscope images of the films are taken after heat treatment. The heat stability is much better than that of other pigment dispersions su itable for red color filter applications.
Example H1: 15 g of pigment and 15 g lithium stearate (metal soap, any kinds) are mixed by homogenizer at 3000 rpm for 3 minutes. 1.2 g of this dry mixture and 600 g of PET-G pellet (pigment concentration: 0.1 %) are tumbled by 2-roll for 15 minutes in a glass bottle. The obtained composition is then injection moulded to platelets at 260°C for 5 minutes. The CIE 1976 colour coordinates are: L* = 58.1 C* = 35.3 h = 3.7. The heat stability is high.

Claims

A substantially crystalline diketopyrrolopyrrole pigment C.I. Pigment Red 254 of the formula
consisting of particles of average size from 0.01 µm to 0.12 µm,
characterized in that the total quantity of particles of size greater than 0.12 µm and smaller than 0.01 µm is from 0 to 8% by weight, based on the weight of particles of size from 0.01 µm to 0.1 µm and the full width at half maximum of the ∼ 28°2θ band of a CuK_α radiation X-ray powder diagram is from 0.1 to 0.88°2θ.
A pigment according to claim 1, wherein the particles are of average size from 0.02 µm to 0.10 µm, preferably from 0.03 µm to 0.06 µm, the total quantity of particles of size greater than 0.12 µm and smaller than 0.01 µm is from 0 to 4% by weight, preferably from 0 to 2% based on the weight of particles of size from 0.01 µm to 0.1 µm and the full width at half maximum of the ∼ 28°2θ band of a CuK_α radiation X-ray powder diagram is from 0.1 to 0.6°2θ, preferably from 0.2 to 0.5°2θ.
The use of a pigment according to claim 1 in colour filters, wherein said pigment is characterized in that a 50% by weight dispersion thereof in a methacrylic resin, applied as a film of thickness such that the absorption maximum in the area from 400 to 700 nm has an intensity of 1.0 ± 0.1, the maximum slope on the bathochromic side of the absorption maximum in the range from 600 to 650 nm reaches at least 5% change in absorption per 1 nm change in wawelength, based on the absorption at said absorption maximum.
A printing ink concentrate comprising from 1 to 75% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, with particular preference from 25 to 40% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink concentrate, and a pigment according to claim 1 which is in dispersion in a binder solution.
A printing ink comprising from 0.01 to 40% by weight, preferably from 1 to 25% by weight, with particular preference from 5 to 10% by weight, based on the overall weight of the printing ink, and a pigment according to claim 1 which is in dispersion in a binder solution.
A printing ink concentrate according to claim 4 or printing ink according to claim 5 wherein the binder comprises primarily an acrylate polymer or copolymer and the solvent is selected from the group consisting of water, C₁-C₅alcohols, ethylene glycol, 2-(C₁-C₆alkoxy)ethanol, acetone, ethyl methyl ketone and any desired mixtures thereof.
A colour filter comprising a transparent, essentially colourless substrate and a layer comprising from 1 to 75% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, with particular preference from 25 to 40% by weight, based on the overall weight of the layer, of a pigment according to claim 1 dispersed in a high molecular mass organic material.
A composition for making colour filters comprising a high molecular mass organic material and from 1 to 40% by weight, preferably from 5 to 25% by weight, with particular preference from 5 to 10% by weight, based on the overall weight of the composition, of a pigment according to claim 1 dispersed therein.
A mass coloured, high molecular mass organic material comprising
(a) from 0.05 to 70% by weight, based on the sum of (a) and (b), of a pigment according to claim 1, and

(b) from 99.95 to 30% by weight, based on the sum of (a) and (b), of a high molecular mass organic material.
A process for colouring high molecular mass organic material in the mass, which comprises incorporating therein a pigment according to claim 1.